Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Mumbai, India, October 18, 2016 – abof has announced the launch of India’s first athleisure fashion brand, SKULT, exclusively on its portal. This brand is in partnership with actor Shahid Kapoor, who has built an iconic reputation amongst India’s youth through movies such as Udta Punjab, Haider, and Jab We Met. SKULT, built on the principle of ‘Fashion meets functionality and Design meets Innovation’, is an evolvedstyle of athleisure which draws inspiration from all around the world but adapted for Indian sensibilities and body types.

Athleisure is a huge trend globally. It is a completely new genre of fashion being introduced by abof to Indian millennials in its continued efforts to be a differentiated player in a market cluttered with discounts. In athleisure, clothes are designed to be sturdy to withstand vigorous routines, yet they are trendy and versatile to be worn everywhere. The fashion needs of millennials have changed in last one decade where comfort wear has permeated in routine life. Youth in India today wants to dress down in everyday wear which is casual yet chic. Identifying the void in Indian wardrobes and taking the idea forward, abof.com has taken this street-wear hybrid trend to next level with the launch of SKULT which stands for Shahid + Cult. SKULT’s athleisure collection is unconventional, highly voguish, yet easy to carry and more importantly reminds consumer something about Shahid’s personality in each of its piece.

The atypical ‘Athleisure’ collection by Skult has been designed in-house by abof and has taken more than a year to work on this brand and its products. Commenting on his idea of SKULT, Shahid said, “Skult is about free styling. Skult is about fashion and functionality. Skult is about being yourself wherever you are. It's about apparel that's an extension of your body. That allows you to express yourself with no restrictions or rules. Sometimes clothes that are cool feel too restricting. This line sets you free. Own style. Don't let style restrict you”.

The collection of SKULT is absolutely enthralling with never before seen silhouettes and designs. SKULT is crafted to suit all occasions - work, casual or social.There is no other brand in India that offers anything even remotely close to the range of SKULT. The collection has strong emphasis on black, grey, nude and monochromatic tones. The offbeat, yet trendy brand has a wide variety of merchandise for men in its launch season with over 250 options, which includes internationally trending categories like meggings and shackets. Apart from bringing these never-heard-before categories in India, even the regular categories have intricate detailing - like thumb holes, drop shoulder jackets, scoop hem tees, long line tees with drawcord - which makes the collection really stand out. SKULT has used high-performance yet very lightweight fabrics - cotton viscose, slub jersey, grindles, melanges, snow heather, terry, lycra denim, cotton satin, and popcorn knit – with the single-minded objective to make it really comfortable. The line also consists of 50 key pieces under ‘SKULT SIGNATURE’ where each piece has been crafted by the actor himself.

“Shahid is a youth icon who is admired for his style. We are extremely excited to partner with him in creating India’s first athleisure fashion brand which combines the actor’s love for ‘fun and comfortable’ dressing", said Kedar Apshankar, Deputy CEO,abof.com. “Athleisure is the new age clothing and we believe that comfort twined with hi-class fashion will take SKULT to great heights. The collection is exceptionally promising and refreshingly on-point. I am confident that this brand and its collection will be embraced by millennials and replace a large part of regular clothes in their wardrobes”, he added.